National champion Manish Singh, who shocked a bunch of experienced sprinters in winning the 100 metres in the Open National championship in Kolkata last year, has been suspended for two years for an anti-doping rule violation.
Manish, just 18 when he took the National title in Kolkata last September, in a career-best 10.60s, beating among others, Shameer Mon, Abdul Najeeb Qureshi, B.G. Nagaraj. Krishna Kumar Rane and Rahmatullah Molla had tested positive for a concoction of three steroids, methandienone, stanozolol and methyl testosterone.
Last week, a National Anti-Doping Disciplinary panel, headed by Sudhir Nandrajog, slapped a two-year suspension on the Haryana athlete, who pleaded leniency on the argument that it was his first experience of being dope-tested.
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The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) despite a clear provision available in its rules to seek an enhanced suspension up to four years for multiple steroid violations sought only a two-year ban.
Manish will serve his suspension from his provisional suspension date of October 7, 2011.
Four other athletes were suspended by the same panel for two years. Vinita Sahni and Alka Rani of Uttar Pradesh, who took the silver in the Kolkata National in the women’s 100m and 400m respectively, also tested positive for multiple substances/
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Vinita tested positive for stanozolol, methyl testosterone and methylhexaneamine while Alka turned in a positive for stanozolol, clenbuetrol (anabolic agent) and stimulant mephentermine.
Vinita said she was not aware how these banned drugs got into her body while Alka took the plea that some other athletes had given her a drink which led to the ‘positive’.
R. Vignesh of Tamil Nadu, who took the third place in the boys under-18 100m in the inter-zonal championship in Bhopal last September tested positive for nandrolone and glucocorticosteroid dexamethasone.
He was suspended for two years from his provisional suspension date which was, however, not specified.
Bengal athlete Ranjana Roy, a 400m runner, tested positive for nandrolone while undergoing selection trials for the Railways team in July last year.
She took the now-familiar plea that she had taken ginseng, Amino and Tribulex.
The panel ruled that these supplements do not contain nandrolone. Ranjana was suspended for two years from her provisional suspension date of August 9, 2011.